pop culture Archives - The Gilmore Guide to Books

Ask Not by Maureen Callahan

Catherine — Fri, 14 Nov 2025 08:54:48 +0000

Reams of paper have been expended in dissecting the Kennedys in all their tragedy and fame. Now, author Maureen Callahan joins the fray with a knockout punch in Ask Not. The book’s subtitle is The Kennedys and the Women They Destroyed, but in case Callahan’s being too subtle this is a scathing exposé about the […]

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The Compound by Aisling Rawle

Catherine — Mon, 18 Aug 2025 07:08:06 +0000

The premise of Aisling Rawle’s The Compound is straightforward: a reality competition show where 20 young, healthy, beautiful strangers are dropped into an estate located in the middle of a desert. They have tasks to complete and will receive rewards for completing them. Some are communal, meaning everyone must participate, and others are personal. The […]

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Let’s Call Her Barbie

Catherine — Thu, 20 Mar 2025 07:02:02 +0000

As a child of the 60s/70s I was one of the numerous little girls clamoring for a Barbie doll. Much like the opening for the movie Barbie (fabulous, a must see) I’d loved my baby doll to death, but needed something more and Barbie was the dream, but it was not to be for […]

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From Here to the Great Unknown

Catherine — Fri, 24 Jan 2025 08:48:37 +0000

Those of us outside looking in, mired in our everyday lives, tend to mythologize celebrities and what their lives look like. The greater the star the larger they loom. This is even true for the children of the famous and in that realm, Elvis Presley’s daughter was tabloid fodder from the day she was born. […]

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Capote’s Women by Laurence Leamer

Catherine — Thu, 25 Apr 2024 07:53:25 +0000

After all the agita of getting taxes filed on time, I needed a reward. Overindulging in champagne was my first choice, but not a healthy option so I turned to reading that gave me the same light, fizzy feeling and required no thought to enjoy. The book is Laurence Leamer’s Capote’s Women: A True Story […]

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Kill Show: A Novel

Catherine — Wed, 08 Nov 2023 08:05:52 +0000

Sara Parcell is a teenager and gifted violinist who disappears on what seems to be an ordinary day. Within days her case goes national, coming to the attention of an ambitious reality TV show producer desperate to do something bigger than dating competition shows. To that end she reaches out to Sara’s parents to follow […]

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Happy at Any Cost by Kirsten Grind

Catherine — Fri, 28 Apr 2023 07:09:46 +0000

As more entrepreneurs turn into billionaires and spend much of their fortunes on flying to space rather than on the problems of Earth, Tony Hsieh’s story is both inspiring and tragic. A man whose mission was to make people happy, but couldn’t find happiness for himself. I reviewed this biography last year, but it recently […]

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I’m Glad My Mom Died

Catherine — Wed, 25 Jan 2023 08:26:58 +0000

How to review a memoir with a title so jarring I felt bad for even looking at it? Especially as my mother has always been one of the biggest supporters of my writing and reads every review (Hi, Mom, I love you!). Here goes. Jennette McCurdy was a child actor on a popular Nickelodeon show […]

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Champagne Supernovas

Catherine — Fri, 20 Jan 2023 08:11:32 +0000

It’s been a serious week so let’s wrap up with some scrumptious nonfiction. My love of fashion and pop culture is no secret and this books hits right at the juncture of the two. Champagne Supernovas is by Maureen Callahan and is about the lives of Alexander McQueen, Marc Jacobs, and Kate Moss—who although they were not […]

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Down and Out in Paradise

Catherine — Fri, 18 Nov 2022 08:59:55 +0000

When Anthony Bourdain died four years ago, most people were stunned. How could a man with so much to live for, a man adored by people around the globe, kill himself? He was a world traveler, sharing his love of food to show the commonalities rather than the differences between various cultures. In Down & […]

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